Some Pokémon look so alike that you have to check the name. Sometimes the Pokédex says it is on purpose. Sometimes the two are unrelated, and the entry says so. This page collects the best pairs we found in the pokee.si Pokédex data, then checked on PokémonDB.
Look-alikes the Pokédex names
The newest generation has the clearest examples. In Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, several new Pokémon look like old ones, but the Pokédex says they are not the same species.
| Pokémon | Type | Height | Looks like | Type | Height | What the Pokédex says |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wiglett | Water | 1.2 m | Diglett | Ground | 0.2 m | The Violet entry says it only looks like Diglett and is a different species. The match seems to come from adapting to similar surroundings. |
| Toedscool | Ground/Grass | 0.9 m | Tentacool | Water/Poison | 0.9 m | The Violet entry says it looks like Tentacool but is a completely different species. |
| Poltchageist | Grass/Ghost | 0.1 m | Sinistea | Ghost | 0.1 m | It has a swirl like Sinistea's. The entry says the two were once thought to be related but are unrelated. |
| Koraidon | Fighting/Dragon | 2.5 m | Cyclizar | Dragon/Normal | 1.6 m | The entry says it resembles Cyclizar but is burlier and fiercer. |
| Miraidon | Electric/Dragon | 3.5 m | Cyclizar | Dragon/Normal | 1.6 m | The entry says it resembles Cyclizar but is more ruthless and more powerful. |
Every pair above has different types, so a matching face says nothing about how a Pokémon plays. Size is another giveaway: in the table, Wiglett is six times as tall as Diglett. Wiglett's evolution is another look-alike: Wugtrio (Water, 1.2 m) and Dugtrio (Ground, 0.7 m). The Wugtrio entry says it was once thought to be a regional form of Dugtrio.
Here is a small oddity. Toedscool and Tentacool both have 335, Toedscruel and Tentacruel both have 515, and Wugtrio and Dugtrio both have 425. The Pokédex says the pairs are not related, so the matching totals are a coincidence.
Poké Ball look-alikes
Two families look like the Poké Balls that Trainers throw. The Pokédex does not fully explain why.
| Pokémon | Type | Category | Height |
|---|---|---|---|
| Voltorb | Electric | Ball Pokémon | 0.5 m |
| Electrode | Electric | Ball Pokémon | 1.2 m |
| Foongus | Grass/Poison | Mushroom Pokémon | 0.2 m |
| Amoonguss | Grass/Poison | Mushroom Pokémon | 0.6 m |
Voltorb's entries say it is easily mistaken for a Poké Ball, and they say nobody knows why. Foongus is a Mushroom Pokémon with a ball pattern, and one entry says no one knows what the pattern means. Voltorb also has a regional version, Hisuian Voltorb (Electric/Grass).
Pokémon mistaken for something else
Some Pokémon look like objects or creatures from the real world. These are paraphrased from their Pokédex entries.
| Pokémon | Type | Often mistaken for | What the Pokédex says |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exeggcute | Grass/Psychic | a bunch of eggs | The entries say it looks like eggs, but it is a proper Pokémon that talks to others by telepathy. |
| Togepi | Fairy | an egg that moves | Walkers in fields and mountains often take it for a moving egg. |
| Geodude | Rock/Ground | a boulder | It is easy to mistake for a rock, and people trip over it. |
| Oddish | Grass/Poison | a clump of weeds | It hides in the ground by day and shrieks if you try to pull it up. |
| Sudowoodo | Rock | a tree | It mimics a tree to avoid fights, but its arms stay green all year, so winter gives it away. |
| Magnezone | Electric/Steel | a UFO | Its flights through the night sky have caused many false UFO reports. |
| Elgyem | Psychic | an alien | Most alien sightings, says the entry, turn out to be this Pokémon. |
| Vaporeon | Water | a mermaid | Its long tail fin has been taken for a mermaid's, and its cells are like water. |
We checked the Geodude and Magnezone lines against their PokémonDB pages. The rest are paraphrased from the entries in the pokee.si data.
Pokémon that copy on purpose
A few Pokémon are look-alikes by design.
| Pokémon | Type | Category | Height | What it copies |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ditto | Normal | Transform Pokémon | 0.3 m | Can copy almost any Pokémon, but the entries say it cannot hold the disguise if it is made to laugh. |
| Mimikyu | Ghost/Fairy | Disguise Pokémon | 0.2 m | Wears a cloth that looks like a Pikachu, and PokémonDB's entry describes it as pretending to be Pikachu. |
| Sudowoodo | Rock | Imitation Pokémon | 1.2 m | Pretends to be a tree. Its category is the Imitation Pokémon. |
Two more from the Pokédex
Finneon (Water, 0.4 m) swims by fluttering two tail fins and, says its entry, looks like a Beautifly (Bug/Flying, 1 m). Their types and sizes differ.
Manaphy (Water, total 600) and Phione (Water, total 480). The Legends: Arceus entry says Manaphy resembles Phione but is quite different, and that how they are related is unclear.
Same name, new look: regional forms
Regional forms are the same Pokémon species in a different part of the world, with a new look. 54 species have 57 regional forms in the data, and in every case the type changed.
| Pokémon | Original type | Regional form | New type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vulpix | Fire | Alolan Vulpix | Ice |
| Sandshrew | Ground | Alolan Sandshrew | Ice/Steel |
| Meowth | Normal | Galarian Meowth | Steel |
| Ponyta | Fire | Galarian Ponyta | Psychic |
| Zigzagoon | Normal | Galarian Zigzagoon | Dark/Normal |
| Voltorb | Electric | Hisuian Voltorb | Electric/Grass |
For the full list, read regional forms list.
Paradox Pokémon
Scarlet and Violet's 22 Paradox Pokémon work the same way. Each one echoes an older Pokémon, such as Roaring Moon (Dragon/Dark) next to Salamence (Dragon/Flying), and Great Tusk (Ground/Fighting) next to Donphan (Ground). Our Paradox Pokémon list has the full table, so we won't repeat it here.
Spot the difference
Next time two Pokémon look alike, check three things on their pages: the type, the height, and the category label, such as "Mushroom Pokémon" or "Ball Pokémon". In every Scarlet and Violet pair above, the type is different. For Pokémon that change shape during a battle, read Pokémon that change form.